Suggested Books

If you have ever wished to be a part of an adventurous archaeology team finding hidden treasures and long-lost fossils from our prehistoric past, now is your chance to get in on the action.

A new “citizen science project” is seeking volunteers to use an interactive website to spot undiscovered fossils in a prehistoric, fossil-rich region in Kenya. There is no need to travel to Africa or sift through mountains of soil to make groundbreaking discoveries, as this search can be done right at home with a computer.

FossilFinder.org

The FossilFinder project is a new volunteer-driven, online tool that involves combing through a database of a million high-resolution images of the arid Turkana Basin in Kenya to find surface-level fossils (ranging from mammal bones to shells or ancient hominin remains), and promising locations for archaeologists to explore in person.

Far from being overwhelming, the FossilFinder project website has been set up simply and with clear instructions, breaking the search down into small, manageable tasks. A public volunteer on the website can call up a random photograph, rate the quality of the image, and then report any fossils they detect. Users are trained to identify a fossil or fossil fragment, then mark any they’ve spotted on the images.

The interface is easy to use. Credit: FossilFinder.org

Such searches cannot be done effectively by any one person, or even a computerized system on its own, says Dr. Andrew Wilson of the University of Bradford to BBC News.

BBC News reports, “Their first tranche of photos covers several square kilometers of ground at a resolution of 3mm per pixel, including large rectangular areas and long strips of land deliberately chosen to criss-cross important locations in the basin.”

To obtain the high-resolution images of the very minute details on the soil surface, archaeologists used specialized cameras mounted on drones, kites, and other devices.

The project was set up jointly by the Turkana Basin Institute in Kenya and the University of Bradford , UK. The team of researchers are looking for community volunteer help to gather data (and hopefully fossils) to further the understanding of the geology and past environment of the area.

An example photo shows the fossil jawbone of an extinct crocodile. Credit: Fossilfinder.org

Community-Driven Science

Adrian Evans, project manager at Bradford University said in a press release, “This is a really exciting project that will allow enthusiasts who can’t get to those remote places to be fully involved as ‘citizen scientists’ to find new fossils as primary research data.

“The project is enabled by a step-change in imaging technology which allows sub-millimeter ground resolution to be captured. Using this technology we can capture images over fossil bearing landscape at an unprecedented scale.”

There is a social aspect of the site, so volunteers can communicate with others and get support and feedback on the examinations. Any would-be fossil hunters can start examining plots immediately, but the volunteer needs to sign in if any credit for discoveries is desired.

Turkana Basin, the Cradle of Mankind

The Turkana Basin, stretching from northern Kenya into southern Ethiopia, is known as the ‘cradle of mankind’, existing as a pre-historic center for early hominids. Many fossils recovered from Turkana Basin and Lake Turkana have turned out to be of major importance in the study of human origins and evolution.

Some 20,000 fossil specimens have been collected from the region. Anthropological digs have led to the discovery of highly significant fossilized remains, most notably, the skeleton of the Turkana Boy, (or Nariokotome Boy), and primitive stone tools dating to 3.3 million years ago.

Professor Andrew Prescott of University of Glasgow notes in the press release, “Fossilfinder illustrates how digital technologies enable the public to become more closely engaged with cutting-edge humanities research. We all now have the opportunity to explore and understand artifacts which enable us to understand who we are and where we come from. I will be taking part, and I hope many others will join in as well.”

Pages

Liz Leafloor

Liz Leafloor is Editor Writer and Member Coordinator for Ancient Origins Having worked in news and online media for years Liz covers exciting and interesting topics like ancient myth history technology archaeological discoveries life and death and the unexplained Liz... Read More

Related Articles on Ancient-Origins

Our human ancestors may not have been the first to spearhead new technologies millions of years ago. It would seem other hominins were crafting tools 700,000 years before previously thought. A paper...

Half a million years before early humans arrived on the scene, the prehistoric hominins living in East Africa were shaping tools out of stone. These rare artifacts have been discovered by scientists...

The chariot is often associated with the ancient Egyptian civilization. It became a prominent weapon of war during the New Kingdom. In fact, it is often considered a superweapon of the ancient world...

Guachimontones (known alternatively as Huachimontones) is an archaeological site located in the western Mexican state of Jalisco. This is an important site of the Teuchitlan tradition, which was a pre-Columbian complex society that flourished in the western part of Mexico (occupying territories in the modern Mexican states of Jalisco and Nayarit).

Suggested Books

Top New Stories

Built by a king and his army to save a queen from the clutches of a rival? Or maybe a bridge to a land which led Adam to his atonement? While both of these ideas are far-fetched, current research suggests the Ram Setu link between India and Sri Lanka is not natural as most people have been told to believe, but is a man-made bridge which is thousands of years old.

Human Origins

Most people are now familiar with the traditional "Out of Africa" model: modern humans evolved in Africa and then dispersed across Asia and reached Australia in a single wave about 60,000 years ago. However, technological advances in DNA analysis and other fossil identification techniques, as well as an emphasis on multidisciplinary research

Ancient Technology

The chariot is often associated with the ancient Egyptian civilization. It became a prominent weapon of war during the New Kingdom. In fact, it is often considered a superweapon of the ancient world...

Ancient Places

Guachimontones (known alternatively as Huachimontones) is an archaeological site located in the western Mexican state of Jalisco. This is an important site of the Teuchitlan tradition, which was a pre-Columbian complex society that flourished in the western part of Mexico (occupying territories in the modern Mexican states of Jalisco and Nayarit).

Opinion

In 1626, a ship filled with folks from the Netherlands put into what would later be called New York Harbor and went about building a Dutch colony called New Amsterdam. The figurehead on the prow of their ship was none other than the patron saint of sailors, Saint Nicholas. The Dutch called him "Sinter Claes." Thus, "Santa Claus" came to the new world.

Our Mission

At Ancient Origins, we believe that one of the most important fields of knowledge we can pursue as human beings is our beginnings. And while some people may seem content with the story as it stands, our view is that there exists countless mysteries, scientific anomalies and surprising artifacts that have yet to be discovered and explained.

The goal of Ancient Origins is to highlight recent archaeological discoveries, peer-reviewed academic research and evidence, as well as offering alternative viewpoints and explanations of science, archaeology, mythology, religion and history around the globe.

We’re the only Pop Archaeology site combining scientific research with out-of-the-box perspectives.

By bringing together top experts and authors, this archaeology website explores lost civilizations, examines sacred writings, tours ancient places, investigates ancient discoveries and questions mysterious happenings. Our open community is dedicated to digging into the origins of our species on planet earth, and question wherever the discoveries might take us. We seek to retell the story of our beginnings.